Facebook has no doubt crept its way into the lives of just about every marketer, advertiser and PR professional. While we all use Facebook every day, there are still a lot of questions and, for lack of a better word, best practices to sort out. Luckily, I got to discuss some of these questions with Marty Weintraub, author of "Killer Facebook Ads" and CEO aimClear®, an online marketing agency.
Q: Do you recommend driving to the Facebook wall or a dedicated tab when posting Facebook ads?

A: There is no real rule of thumb. For the most effective KPI conversion, landing pages need to fulfill the promises of ad copy, keeping in mind the users' interests. We have seen data to support that Facebook users prefer to stay in Facebook, which means that landing pages within dedicated Facebook pages/tabs that also include forms or other Calls-To-Action are an excellent option.

Q: What is the best Facebook ad you've seen, and why?

A: I like ads that use people to appeal to the target demographic. For instance, marketing anything to people that are interested in Jesus Christ, where the dude has a beard and dark hair. As a general rule, I like ads where respect for targeted demographic and micro-segmentation is obviously well thought out and at play. For example, I'm a mature male interested in fine wine. I can tell when advertisers are testing whether the word "Merlot" or "Zinfandel" and a picture of a dude my age or a hot 40 year old lawyer lady will earn my click.

Q: What are your thoughts on sponsored stories and video units? Have you had success with either of these?

The ability to sponsor stories about your brand that have surfaced organically in the Facebook News Feed, as a result of users interacting with them, is a very important breakthrough in social PPC. We've had a lot of luck. It's cool to take natural user interactions and pay to blow them up.

It's important to keep in mind that sponsored stories are not the same as ads and that you include them in your Facebook campaign to amplify your target audience's actions. I'd recommend testing sponsored stories on your Facebook assets, side by side traditional Facebook ads promoting the same assets. Observe the results and decide for yourself based on testing your actual situation.

Q: What are some tips you can offer to increase engagement and interest in branded Facebook pages?

A: The art of composing an effective headline transcends Facebook Ads. Whether the KPI is to increase engagement, earn fans, or sell toasters, it's all about boiling down the value proposition or tease thereof to a few short words and packaging it in the right tone.

Literal headlines straight up say what the ad is about, in clear terms, without metaphor or allegory. "Friend us here and we'll give $50 to charity." Sideways headlines are logical extrapolations of inferred targeting. "Don't Be a Clockhead." The ad’s copywriter needs to summon a well-steeped understanding of both the product and its target market. Instead of being literal in the headline concept, a sideways concept reaches for a snippet that could appeal to users’ personalities, perspective, sense of humor, or an inside joke that only users of the product will fully understand.

Q: What about using creative v.s. copy to drive engagement?

A: The role of the image is to somehow cut through the clutter of an average Facebook page template, attract the user's attention and speak to that social segment. Eye-poking creative has good success when married with strong copy that includes user benefit, an offer and a call to action.

So there you have it. Hopefully that helps answer some burning Facebook questions! If you're interested to know more, Marty will be speaking at the upcoming SES conference in Toronto!

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